My Story: We’re Both Aware That We May Not Have A Lot Of Time In Our Lives, But We Don’t Worry About That Too Much

“We first met in April 2011 at the Youth Thalassemia Association. Both of us are Thalassemia major patients, so every meet we would bump into each other and learn a little bit more about one another. Through these meetings we became friends, more so because our problems and insecurities were so similar — for one, the both of us had given up on the idea of love. Our condition is such that we have to get blood transfusions every 15 days and a ‘long and happy life’ is a very distant dream.

As time passed and we let each other into our lives, I realised that I was in love with her. She filled a void in my life that I didn’t even know existed before we met— and I knew that whatever little time I have here, I wanted it to be with her. On her birthday, I purposely didn’t wish her. Instead, in the afternoon I casually called her up and asked her to meet me at a place where I told her my friends and I were hanging out. When she came to see me, she realised no one else was there and I had forgotten all about her birthday. Just when she was about to leave I handed her a little box and when she opened it she wanted to kill me. It had a huge capsicum in it, which she’s allergic to — but then I opened it and inside was a beautiful pendant set for her… and she was so happy, it made everything worth it. Through everything our parents were so supportive of our relationship and our treatments that it made us less stressed about what the future held for us.

In a few years we were married, obviously knowing that we will never be able to have children of our own, but she’s enough for me. We still date — we go out for dinners, movies and now even our blood transfusions together. We’re both aware that we may not have a lot of time in our lives, but we don’t worry about that too much. How does the length of life matter, if everyday you feel so happy that you wouldn’t even mind if it was your last day here?”

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Partner Story

Empowering The Underprivileged Through Social Initiatives

After a hectic day at work, we return to the comfort of our homes. Yes, we struggle to make a living, but we also have support in multiple areas.

We don’t have to fend for water – the municipality supplies it to us. We don’t walk to the office and sometimes lose our way in the middle – we rely on maps in our smartphones. Even when we were young, we had the luxury to attend good private schools that helped us transform into who we are today.

We are the ones blessed with privilege.

But what about the other half of our country’s population?

ICICI Bank, through its corporate social responsibility initiatives, is empowering our nation’s underprivileged. It has undertaken seven initiatives to bring about a change in India.

Digital Villages: Being self-made gives us a sense of accomplishment like no other. There are thousands in our villages who wish to start new ventures but lack financial support and the required skills. To give them a chance to run their own businesses, ICICI is providing easy loans, digital banking and market access in villages.

Women Empowerment: Women are the backbone of our society, therefore, making them economically independent and self-reliant is essential. ICICI provides loans and assistance to women-led groups and helps them in starting or expanding their own businesses. It has empowered more than 2.5 million women.

Skill Development: A skill can change a whole family’s future. In an attempt to uplift the underprivileged youth of our nation toward a better tomorrow, ICICI has given free vocational training to over 1,90,000 of them, in both rural and urban sector, through its Academy for Skills and Rural Self Employment Training Institutes.

Education: Our children are our future leaders, therefore ensuring that they receive a good education is imperative. But this can only be made possible when our teachers are capable too. ICICI has sought not only to renew curriculums but train teachers as well. These initiatives have upgraded 950+ schools and ensured better learning experience for students.

Clean India: To set the course for a cleaner India, ICICI has constructed 500 toilets in rural schools and undertaken cleanliness drives around their branches.

Green India: For a sustainable future, ICICI has started tree plantation drives and undertaken initiatives for solar electrification of villages. Many of its branches also run on solar power.

Health: To enable a stronger tomorrow, ICICI has sought to reduce child undernutrition, improve the health of rural women and contribute to surgeries for underprivileged children

ICICI has impacted lives of over 17 million underprivileged people through its initiatives – “Empowering people, transforming lives”. They have begun an extraordinary journey which is crucial for the overall growth of our nation. #TransformingLives